User blog:Mrs Chanandler Bong/SONG REVIEW: "Midnite Float" - Gorillaz feat. Azekel
GREAT SONG SHOUT-OUTS Shout-out to "The Way You Used to Do" by Queens of the Stone Age for having a killer guitar riff, "Long Beach" by Gorillaz for having an eerie video game vibe and "Pursuit of Happiness" by Kid Cudi featuring MGMT for being the best balance between indie and mainstream I've ever heard. Now, onto the review. Introduction I wanted to do several songs for this review. For quite a while, I planned to review the one-hit wonder Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" featuring Michael Ja-- MJ gone, our n---a dead Yeah, thanks, Kanye. Anyway, I planned a few jokes and stuff for that but I decided to switch it up a bit and do two reviews this month, because I started to have very strong feelings - by that I mean absolute hatred - to the new N.E.R.D. song featuring Rihanna, "Lemon". I would also review Rockwell later in the month, but I was listening to an album that just needed at least one review from me recently and I did rank the tracks on Twitter, @RedBlueRandom. I decided to get one of my favourite tracks and explain why I loved it at first and started to not like it as much as I started listening to it more. That album I'm talking about you ask? The 'super deluxe edition of Gorillaz' fifth studio album, Humanz. It's safe to say I was incredibly disappointed in the new tracks - which I can barely call tracks, more like unfinished Garage Band demos - but I don't really know what I was expecting. Maybe, I don't know, finished songs that made up for the broken promises that Humanz ''failed to deliver? I won't lie, some of the bonus tracks on this thing were gold - "Garage Palace" featuring Little Simz is a must-listen and my personal favourite is "Grilling with his Face". That's not the one we're talking about today. Let's talk about the "Momentz" B-side, "Midnite Float" featuring Nigerian-born British soul musician Azekel. Mondegreens Mondegreens are a fancy word for misheard lyrics, and Azekel's vocals are pretty hard to figure out on the first few listens. This is what I '''thought '''Azekel was singing. ''Feeling the right temper There is no right temper, per se, but Azekel feels like he is conformed to the "right" emotion, without any personality. Kinda like Gene from The Emoji Movie. I watched that through a PornHub cam-rip. Thanks, Violet. Awful, the fun-free world Here, Azekel is expressing his contempt for the numb-ness or lack of emotion that he is feeling. Swimming in the new world Azekel is wishing he could be elegantly swimming in "the new world" - which is feeling, heart and emotion - but he's swimming specifically here. This represents how he is afraid of "drowning" until the numb-ness that he felt before. Shiver down my backbone These Damon Albarn vocals are sampled from its A-side. Yes, the B-side to "Momentz" SAMPLES "Momentz"! I know these are demos and shit but really, Damon? You couldn't at least moved this to another space in the album so it'd be less obvious? Sigh, we'll get to that in a second. And how come my head hurts hard? He is having a headache due to how he is conflicted - should he leave a life of no concern but no joy or be constantly afraid of drowning into that life? I can see the bus moving down hopes ''I don't really know what I thought this meant but I guess it's the bus running over any hopes Azekel had of joy and excitement? I don't know. So my analysis makes sense to you, right? While not that deep, I'd say Azekel and Albarn's lyrics are pretty damn emotional here and present a relateable conflict. Do you know the real lyrics? Do you? Cos they sound like a fucking Beats by Dre commercial. The Actual Lyrics Have you ever heard a song just MADE for a commercial? Not lyrically but in terms of I don't know, Beck's "Up All Night" or Imagine Dragons' "Thunder"? Just upbeat enough but not saccharine. Imagine that but downtempo, in a minor key but lyrically sounds like a commercial. ''Feeling the right tempo It's a dance song now, okay? I can kinda get into that. All for the fun-free world Oh... Cos we might not be here tomorrow / Let's do it tonight Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" (^) is relevant again? Holy shit, this must follow the same theme. We're gonna party during the apocalypse like "Ascension" and "Strobelite", yeah, I don't know why I was complaining. This concept is awesome. Spinning in a new world As in Interlude: New World? Cos that song sounds like it's a drunk synthesizer. I'll give you that. Now I've got my headphones on ''OH... This is perfect commercial music. You're dancing alone with your headphones in the apocalypse? Who the hell does that? You should be spending time with loved ones or even complete strangers like De La Soul in "Momentz". Why are you retconning the album's overall theme, Azekel? Maybe it's because you want a song you can put in a Beats by Dre advert, Damon, Azekel, Remi, Twilite Tone, whoever else wrote this. I know what you might be thinking - it's not a single! It may not be on purpose! I couldn't care less about how purposeful it was, the label and the producers let this happen, let this slip through the cracks. They wanted a commercial song, they wanted the money it would earn them. So if the next single isn't "Idaho" or "Hollywood", I bet your ass it'll be "Midnite Float"! That's why this unfinished batshit demo B-side album is approximately $400 - so the label can earn more wasted money from vinyl collectors thinking they're getting a full 30-or-so-track album. Spoiler alert: it's a glorified B-sides album and that's what it should be called instead of pretty much lying to fans. This shit is inexcusable but don't let that distract you from how awesome this instrumental is. It starts off with this glossy faux-orchestral synth that sets the scene, with some what I assume to be creepily-edited choir vocals to add to the atmosphere. Then sirens start to ring and we hear general commotion to start the post-apocalyptic party!... which is all sampled from a song you already have if you bought the deluxe version of ''Humanz. Which, by the way, you don't get in the Super Deluxe (from what I know) so essentially you are being teased "Circle of Friendz" featuring Brandon Markell Holmes? Intrigued in what you just heard, which would be completely different from the rest of this song? Guess what you have to do? Get the deluxe edition. "Oh, I can just stream it on Spotify and not pay!" Yeah, you'll get an ad that pays the label though, kiddo, and I'm all for supporting artists but this is corporate greed. An unedited sample of a song that is not on your album but is ''still ''owned by both the label and the artist on the song you just listened to. This isn't a short bit, no, this is an unedited sample that is played for nearly a whole damn minute. Let's ignore that for now, let's get into the party scene, with this danceable electronic beat featuring all kinds of interesting synthesizer melodies and buzzes! Most of which are from "Momentz" or at least take inspiration from. This whole instrumental is a bunch of samples with some trap snares, Azekel vocals and added GarageBand synths. It's lazy, especially because it's the next track after the song it samples the most throughout! But does this mean I don't enjoy it? No, of course not, in fact, I love this instrumental to death, and think the synth-samples were used better here than on the original track. Why do I still love this song even throughout all my complaining? Simply because it's fun. This instrumental is one of the best on not only the super deluxe but also the whole album, and it really gets me hyped. The atmospheric build-up is well-executed and doesn't last too long to get boring, with the trap snares on the verse (while reminding me trap snares on pop songs will never ever go away) being appropriate for the song's lyrics, especially the "shiver down my backbone" sample, with Damon's eerie falsetto. Sure, the lyrics may have me fuming, but they're fucking incomprehensible. Like "24K Magic" and "Starboy" last year, the lyrics don't take center stage and the beat can overpower it and that is more effective than stuff like "Sex Murder Party" where you have to focus on the lyrics as the beat is empty as all hell. This duet(z) from Azekel and Damon deserves, in my opinion, a solid '''8/10. What do you want me to review next? Make sure to leave a short request in the comments below, but I gotta go. Bootleg Todd in the Shadows who doesn't like marshmallows, out! Stupid Lyrics: Overthrowing the slime one line at a time. Stupid lyrics and Cupid spirits! Welcome back to a round-up of bad lines that I heard the past few days, weeks, months, etc. 1- "Independent Women, Pt. 1" - Destiny's Child Question! I'm all ears. Tell me what you think about me That's... not a question. 2- "Cook" - Fatlip You look good! Can you cook? Romantic. So this song is essentially a joke song about Fatlip being awkward with girls. That's you, ain't nothing new / Beatiful, way back, molested at two Uh... Question! How the fuck do you know that? I thought you were just picking up some chicks at the bar... and I understand beoing awkward and everything but I don't think anyone would ever bring that up when talking to anyone casually. "Hey, man, how's your coffee?" "Pretty good, weren't you raped by a paedophile as a toddler?" "Maybe, I don't know." The hell, Fatlip? 3- "Post to Be" - Omarion feat. Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko If your dude come close to me You act as if it's a threat, Jhene. Are you okay? Are you scared? He gon' want to ride off in a Ghost with me Nevermind. But he gotta eat the booty like groceries What, store it in the refridgerator until he wants to eat it? I'm pretty sure Jhene is the only girl who wants to sit in a freezer for hours just so she can have sex? I might have that ni--a sailing his soul for me I think you may have meant "selling" there, Jhene. But at least they sound similar, not as bad as I don't know, Rick Ross, for example. 4- "Comfortable Freestyle" - Rick Ross I'm the biggest rapper, Google me, Expedia This episode of Stupid Lyrics is sponsored by Expedia. Great cheap flights, car and hotel deals. Find your perfect holiday or city break and save now on your next trip. You can get it 10% off with the code "Rick Ross is a dumbass". Okay, sorry, but there's so much stuff wrong with this line. Expedia Again, Expedia is a travel website, and I'm sorry, but... Question! How does Rick Ross not know what Wikipedia is?! He might slip up, he's getting old, but how do you slip up on THAT?! Google me, Expedia Even if he said Wikipedia in this line, you can't Google someone at Wikipedia. You have to Google someone and you're lead to Wikipedia. I'm the biggest rapper This is not true, either meaning. There's way richer and way chubbier rappers than Rick Ross. Ever since the Fat Boys broke up, rap hasn't been the same since Nas gives a great example of The Fat Boys, great pioneers of conscious hip ho-- My nuts!! Yeah, I think that's my cue to go. Remember to Google me! Expedia! 5- "Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1" - Kanye West feat. Kid Cudi Now if I fuck this model and she just bleached her asshole / And I get bleach on my T-shirt, I'mma feel like an asshole This line makes me want to drink bleach. Through the asshole. While I'm on the subject of Kanye, today's Hey Mama Day, stream the shit outta that song to pay respects to Donda West, died November 10th, 2007, Rememberance Day, get that snake off the charts quick. Cheers to manipulating the Billboard Hot 100's charting system! clink On the subject of Kid Cudi... 6- "Day 'n' Nite" - Kid Cudi Day and night / The lonely stoner seems to free his mind at night I love this song, and although I really enjoy it, I kinda have to listen to the explicit version. I can't listen to it on the radio because a certain line bugs me. Lonely stoner See, on the explicit version, he's talking about how he's lonely and does drugs, as evidenced by his second single, "Pursuit of Happiness" with MGMT and Ratatat. Crush a bit, little bit / Roll it up, take a hit / Feeling lit, feeling right Why did I drink so much and smoke so much, oh?! One of my favourite songs of all time right there by the way. Back to "Day 'n' Nite", I heard the song on the radio this week and I had to skip it, I just couldn't live with this chorus: The lonely loner Okay, I know you had to make it clean, and it was an easy switch but Jesus Christ, SCOTT! Yes, his real name's Scott. I'm going to address you by your first name now, SCOTT! Don't you think, Mr. Lonely Loner, that that line is a bit... redundant? And this song, although I love it, is very repetitive and the melody in the verses is pretty much the melody in the chorus, so whenever I hear the "doo-doo-doo (wah-wah) / doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo", I think of the lonely loner and the stoney stoner and the moany moaner and the boney boner. Question! Oh, somebody has a question. You look good! '' Not... not a question. ''Can you cook? I actually can't cook very well, so, uh, sadly I'm not Fatlip's type. See ya! Stupid Lyrics: overthrowing the slime one line at a time. Category:Blog posts